Ellen DeGeneres gives studio audience $1M to split

ELLEN DeGeneres has gifted her latest studio audience a whopping $1 million to show thanks for each of their acts of kindness.

The talk show host has been spending the week celebrating her 60th birthday, and her latest surprise was partnering with cereal brand Cheerios to give her studio audience $1 million to split among themselves.

Ellen rewarded her audience for reaching their goal of one million acts of good.

"I want to take a moment first of all to say everybody in the audience is here for a special reason," DeGeneres said in the clip that went to air overnight.

Her audience was filled with people who participated in the "One Million Acts of Good" campaign.

"Thanks to every single person in this audience, it is filled with goodness and we have reached one million acts of good because of all of you," DeGeneres said.

DeGeneres prompted the audience to look under their seats to see if there was a box of Cheerios, and if there was they would be in for a special surprise.

Every single audience member had a box under their seat.

"So, I want to do something that we've never done before," DeGeneres continued. "Hold onto your Cheerios because all of you are splitting $1 million!"

Ellen audience members lose their minds.

DeGeneres is known for her kind-heartedness and promotion of good will. She ends each show with the catchphrase "Be kind to one another" and that kindness was evidently rewarded in the show.

Some of the good deeds DeGeneres acknowledged, included a couple who used their own money and drove over 1200km to deliver supplies during Hurricane Harvey.

Lori Gaines, a schoolteacher, donated a kidney to the mother of one of her students just three weeks earlier.

Audience members were genuinely shocked by the generous reward.(Supplied)

Dan McKernan quit his job and started a sanctuary for farm animals. He raised $150,000 for them.

It was clear by the look on the audience members' faces, they genuinely were shocked by the announcement.

During an earlier show, DeGeneres' wife Portia De Rossi, 45, surprised the talk show queen with her very own namesake gorilla conservation centre to celebrate the milestone birthday.